BrokerIPTV Real Estate News and Videos

BrokerIPTV : Today we are talking with George Leonard from Fuller Towne & Country Properties Managing broker for the Cherry Creek office. George thanks for being with us. I want to talk about real estate business in general and one of the questions that comes up always is: are there too many agents, I mean it has just flooded the industry?

George: Well, Colorado has had a boom in real estate in the past 5 to 7 years. Well, lot of people got into real estate then, because it was pretty easy. There are lots of agents. There are 40,000 licensed agents in the state of Colorado. As the number of deals go down, because of this market, those people that are not doing this on a fulltime basis or it is not their career. They will spin out and move on, which I believe is a very healthy thing for this market.

BrokerIPTV : How about discount brokerages, are they hurting the business? I mean one point I know that their market share was up and now it is down, what is your thoughts on that?

George: Well, discount brokerages you cannot blame people looking for ways to save some money, but when you are buying and selling real estate. The bottom line is as you get what you pay for and I think to general public is beginning to learn that. When you are in a tough market, you absolutely need a professional to help you. Otherwise, your property is not going to be exposed or you as a buyer, you are not going to see the property that would be the one that you would purchase.

BrokerIPTV : When lots of agents got in because then it was cheap to do and it was the thing to do at that time. Did we see ethics begin to slip?

George: Ethics is the very fluid thing. Fuller Towne & Country is very protective about our ethics. What we found out is that if you elevate your ethics, the person on the other side will also. I do not like to say that ethics are deteriorating. I will say that there are some interesting deals out there.

BrokerIPTV : Fuller Towne & Country has a reputation of being a high-end brokerage firm, what is happening in high-end market?

George: Well the high end has felt some of the crunch from the lending industry and also the housing market. People that are in the luxury home market are affected by economic changes, but may be not so much. So, we have seen a slowdown, there is one, but it is not as the market still is moving people are still buying and selling houses. That the luxury home market, I do not think it will affect this as much.

BrokerIPTV : Now, I know you are going to tell me and everyone else the exact date when the recovery happened

George: Right, yeah, I brought my crystal ball with me. A couple of things, the real estate market all throughout the country appreciated much higher than Colorado did. I think we are seeing those regions are pulling back much deeper than we are. We did not appreciate so much, so I don't think we are going to slowdown as much as those regions. Another indictor of the residential market is commercial. Commercial usually precedes residents by 1 to 2 years. Now, commercial has been seeing record years, they got a little hick-up when the lending institution thing hit, but they are doing fantastic. So, I am looking for a recovery here pretty soon.

BrokerIPTV : Can you give us one or two points last questions that could be a good game plan for an agent in '08?

George: I think the best thing would be to get back to basics and be the best informed person that those people talk to. These buyers and sellers need the information to make good decisions, it isn't that to just show someone a house and write a contract or walk into a house, say it should sell for this amount and that is it. I think you need to be more educated, better trained, it's just making us be more professional.

BrokerIPTV : George, thanks, great information.

George: Thank you.

BrokerIPTV : Appreciate it.